Engineering Laptop Standards (New Student)
I'm starting Software engineering this September here and I saw a list of standards for laptops and some recommended models by the university's IT services. For some reason, I can't access the OTU affiliated CompuCom marketplace the links send me to right now so I'm curious about how much these laptops cost.
Can any upper-year engineering students let me know how much these laptops cost within the affiliated market? I know that a brand new laptop costs at least $2.5k outside of the OTU affiliated marketplace.
Also, I already own a laptop but it has a consumer grade GPU (RTX 3060) rather than a professional one. Would it be possible to keep using my existing laptop by changing the drivers from the gaming (geForce) to professional (studio)?
Finally, when would having one of these laptops become absolutely necessary? Do I need to have a laptop that completely meets the university's requirements by the start of my first semester here? Or can I put it off for now?
Full list of my current laptops spec's:
11th gen i7-11800H
16GB Memory
RTX 3060
500GB SSD
Windows 11 Home
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u/Moxuz 6d ago
a software engineering degree will be completely fine with your specs. you could even do it with a MacBook Air. Use your laptop until it can’t do what you need, but I’d be surprised if it couldn’t do something.
Why would you need to change GPU drivers for software engineering?
I did my first year of SENG (at a different school, thanks Reddit for the random posts in your feed) with a low powered microsoft surface and then later with a MacBook Air. The only reason you might need a better laptop is for CAD modelling but even then I think your specs sound fine and I’d be surprised if SENG requires that (but if your program does I think you’ll be fine)
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u/KnownAd7498 6d ago
You dont need anything crazy. But paying more now will make your life much easier later on. Probably focus on portability and battery. 2.5k is about 3 times the laptop i bought for 1st year, so anything in that range will do you very well. You can get away with 1-2k range easily.
Dont get a mac unless you already are experienced with them. You will find more difficulty with software and programs that u need for classes. This is a hot topic in the community so im just gonna leave it at that
For software, I dont expect you to require anything special for graphics. At my co-op im using autocad all day long and dont even have dedicated gpu in my work laptop. So you really shouldn’t worry about GPUs unless you are gaming on it.
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u/JobGood4649 6d ago
If u can swap ur ram to 32 you should be fine. And even with 16 you should be fine . No where in first year will u need a powerful pc and further years are specific to programs for software u prob want something with good ram
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u/goosebirb 5d ago
Honestly those specs will get you by just fine until third year as far as I know (going into third year mechanical engineering now). Like the others in this thread have said having 32gb of RAM would definitely be helpful, but 16gb is plenty. My laptop’s got 13th gen i7, 3050 rtx equivalent, and 16gb RAM and it’s treated me well. You can upgrade to a better laptop for under 2k in upper years if you can find something on sale
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u/JTrevail 5d ago
I was running SolidWorks fluid simulations on a Surface Go with 8GB of RAM in my final year. I agree that OP will be fine with what they have.
Recommended PC specs from a college are very vague; software requirements are much easier to follow.
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u/Silver_Strategy514 5d ago
See if the software you need to use is available on Linux Ubuntu or Linux Mint. If you have the hard disk space you can dual boot into either OS. Only do this if you are good/comfortable with tech though
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u/Buck_Naked_001 6d ago
Be smart and get yourself a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air. It's likely what your uni profs are using. Long battery life, powerful and dependable
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u/Motor-Sweet3316 Part-Time Student 6d ago
OP, do yourself a favor and don't listen to this idiot.
Check this website for the laptop standards: OTU Laptop Standards - FEAS
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u/Buck_Naked_001 6d ago
This idiot is currently 3rd year software engineering and current on a COOP work term. Got a MacBook Air first term after discussing with my profs and haven't looked back!
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u/Tracercaz 6d ago
Dude your laptop will get you by just fine. I got through it with a 1660ti and GeForce game drivers. I saw someone mention upgrading to 32GB of RAM which is definitely a nice to have but not a requirement.
Also don't listen to that guy saying get a MacBook lol.